Comments

Sorry for the black humor, folks. I guess I am feeling a little defeatist today, finding myself in the position of having to pin my hopes on the moderate Republican candidate Obama, there being nothing else in political play in the US today.

Wisconsin was a compelling example of the defeat of populism by money, and though there are many other factors that made that race different from the big one coming over the next month, it is still very hard to be optimistic.

Jeph Jaques over at questionablecontent.net on 4th July had a similarly bleak view.

With the Republicans so batshit crazy, Obama doesn’t have to listen to his voters since voting for the current Reps would be the greater of two evils. Look at how the party line is ABSOLUTELY FINE with dissing and denigrating progressives but treat Rightwingnut rants with kid gloves (even to the extent of sacking a senator over faked footage).

Obama is only chasing the Republican vote, his power base can go hang, the Republican party enables it.

You may need to be a whole lot less simplistic. Taking the long view, most super-intelligent mammals probably regard it as a good thing that the comet wiped out the dinosaurs; conversely, most of the super-intelligent insects to come will probably regard it as a good thing that those snooty mammals managed to wipe themselves out. The original rhetorical point was presumably intended to point up the absurdity of you, me, or anyone else, presuming to know what’s good for the planet.

The low quality of contemporary US politics (not that ours is any better), is more likely borne out by the near certainty that the president never said “heal the planet” in the first place. If you’re going to play these rheotircal games, you generally need to start with real quotations.

A couple of things Ian – and I know you were being slightly tongue-in-cheek so I won’t be too pedantic.

Obama actually did use the phrase ‘heal the planet’ – but it is immaterial really. What is more concerning is the Republican party’s total capture by the money offered by the fossil fuel industry, and it’s inability to speak against the interests of it’s major donors. There are many conservatives in the US who do want to take action in climate change, and who knows, maybe Romney (if he wins) may be able to take baby steps towards doing so. But because money talks, it is unlikely that we will be able to undertake the major efforts which are actually required.

Secondly, it is impossible to have ‘super intelligent insects’. An insect’s body is constrained in size by it’s physiology – and cannot either grow to sufficient size, or have a high enough metabolism, to support a large brain. When we are gone – or significantly reduced in numbers as is almost certain to occur if we do nothing about climate change soon – it won’t be super intelligent insects which take our place. More likely, the the world will return to a more stable ecosystem with less of us, and more of the things which will thrive in the altered climate.

so help me god, i have never heard in my life something silly than this from mandas: “When we are gone – or significantly reduced in numbers as is almost certain to occur if we do nothing about climate change soon – it won’t be super intelligent insects which take our place”

the medical diagnosis of mandas’ mental state is something like progressive climate idiotism associated with paranoid co2 delusion. we pray for mandas quick recovery from his illness